Regence is part of a not-for-profit company with health plans covering 2.5 million people in Idaho, Washington, Utah and Oregon. The company enrolls more individual insurance customers than any other carrier in Oregon, and Miller said those consumers have seen a series of large increases in recent years, as well as a redesign of their health plans.

The proposed 22.1 percent increase is an average; specific people could see their rates go up more or less depending on their circumstances. The proposed rate increase would take effect Aug. 1. It applies to policies sold to individuals, not employer groups. The insurance division regulates prices of individual, small-group and portable health plans. It has the authority to approve or deny requests or approve lesser rates.

Regence says the price hike is necessary to cover the rising costs of medical services and prescription drugs.

"Health care costs for our individual pool are increasing, while the number of people sharing the burden of those costs is shrinking," a statement issued by the company said. "The rates we have requested in this filing are a direct reflection of these costs." A Regence spokesman declined to answer questions Tuesday.

The average cost of individual coverage sold by all companies in Oregon rose by about 15 percent in each of the past two years, and by more than 21 percent in 2008. A 2009 state law gave the Oregon Insurance Division more authority to review rate requests, and Oregon and other states received $1 million federal grants to improve health insurance rate review. Oregon hired four more people to review insurance company filings and awarded a $100,000 grant to a consumer advocacy group to independently review and comment on rate increases.

The agency says it disallowed half of the rate increases insurers originally requested between March 2010 and April 2011. ODS Health Plan, for example, sought a 20.7 percent increase for individual policies but got 17.5 percent. Providence Health Plan requested an 18 percent increase and was granted a 13 percent increase. On average, the division says the rates it approved reduced insurance company requests by 4 percentage points, saving about $10 per person on monthly insurance premiums.

Most companies denied their requested rates say they will lose money in the individual market. The Insurance Division asserts that insurers' profits from large employer groups and investment income can cover short-term losses on individual plans and maintain companies' financial stability.

With the requested rate increase, Regence expects to make a 1.1 percent profit on its individual market plans. In its rate filing, Regence said medical and prescription drug costs each rose 12.6 percent, and that benefits mandated by state and federal health reforms will add 5.5 percent to the costs of medical and drug coverage.

In all lines of business, Regence spent more on medical claims, claims adjustment, and administration than it earned in premiums in 2007 and 2008, and broke even in 2009, records show. By the middle of last year, premium income climbed to 3 percent above expenses. Regence amassed a surplus of $595.7 million in 2010, up by more than $100 million from five years ago.

Miller said rate review alone can't hold back rising costs of insurance, which are driven by soaring costs and rapidly growing use of expensive medical technologies, including surgical implants, diagnostic imaging machines and biopharmaceuticals.

"Part of what we want to do is really study ways we can try to get to those costs," Miller said.

The June 2 hearing on Regence BlueCross BlueShield rate request will be from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the Portland State Office Building, 800 N.E. Oregon St., Portland. The division will accept public comments on the rate request until June 15.